The present disclosure is related to the field of toasters. More specifically, the present disclosure is related to toasters which are adjustable to accommodate toasting of a variety of food products.
A conveyor toaster is a well-known cooking device that uses a vertical or near-vertical heating platen and a slowly rotating conveyor, which urges a food product against the platen while it simultaneously drags a food product downwardly and across the platen's hot surface. By virtue of its design, a conveyor toaster is able to process food products continuously as opposed to the toasters commonly used by consumers, which process food products in a batch mode.
Conveyor toasters are ill-suited for consumer use because of their size, manufacturing cost, power requirements, and the time required to pre-heat the platen to operating temperature. Conveyor toasters are preferred by restaurants and food preparation services however that require high-volume through-put and consistent heating/toasting of the food products.
A well-known problem with prior art conveyor toasters is that heavy-gauge wire conveyors that urge a food product against the platen and which moves the food product across the platen tend to leave marks in soft food products like breads and bagels. Another problem with prior art conveyer toasters is the inability to process food products of varying thicknesses due to the fact that the spacing or separation distance between the actual conveyor and the heated platen is fixed. Food products that are too thin will thus fall through a prior art conveyor toaster. Food products that are too thick can jam the conveyor in place. Yet another problem with prior art conveyor toasters is that they are difficult to clean because the conveyors are fixably attached to the toaster bodies.
Solutions for adjustable conveyor toasters have been proposed, for example as found in “Toaster With Removable and Adjustable Conveyors”, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0275789, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0121782, entitled “Conveyor Toaster With Self-Aligning Belts,” which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, uses a rib attached to the inside surface of a continuously rotating belt to assist belt alignment and also provides a manual belt-tensioning lever. However, the mechanical solutions disclosed in those applications provide for a limited range of adjustment and a toaster with a greater flexibility of arrangements and adjustments could provide greater flexibility in the food products and toasting operations performed within a single toaster unit.